Run Away
by Ember of the Moon
Summary: This story revolves around Kumo, who bears the last shard. (Yes, I know that Inu might not get all the shards together, THIS IS A FF!) Kumo wishes to hand the shard to Inuyasha, but an odd fear forces him to flee.


Note: I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA, YOU HEAR ME?! I WISH I did, because then I would have lots of money. so all Inuyasha characters are, duh, Rumiko Takahashi's creations. --; and don't be a smart alec, this includes: Naraku, Kikyou, Inuyasha, Kagome, Shippou, Miroku, Sango, Kirara. annnd I hope I got them all. hopefully.  
  
Second note: I added a character that isn't rightfully mine, but I believe I got permission from the creator to use her a little. that character is Miki. that is DiscoFaerie's charrie. I own Samuski, Kumo, and Leiko. er.... yes, own.   
  
A young hanyou lept through the trees, taking off at a surprising speed. A pack of wolves below him barked as they raced to keep up with him, glancing at each other and the half wolf demon worriedly.   
  
'I must... I must keep running!' he panted to himself as he ran, begining to tire from his flee.   
  
He hoped they weren't following him, he couldn't fight them, refused to fight them. The hanyou cried out when he lost his footing on a branch, falling to the ground. The boy lay there for awhile, breathing hard. He put a hand down his still slightly baggy blue shirt, pulling out a small shard, a small shard of the Shikon no Tama, the jewel of four souls.   
  
He looked down at the jewel with his strange violet eyes shaded by his matted orange hair. He narrowed his eyes and gripped the shard tightly. 'I won't let them take you from me... this is the only thing I have!' he growled desperately.   
  
His pack came up to him, panting as well, wondering what was going on. To them, he had just ran frantically away from an old friend, a strange friend, but still. The largest, and oldest wolf of the pack trotted up to the hanyou, Kumo, whining quietly and licking his face. Kumo looked up at the wolf smiling weakly. 'Sorry about that...' He sighed, sitting up and trying to catch his breath.   
  
He saw that the pack was all tired from the lengthy run, and felt guilty for practically forcing them to flee like that. He scratched the old wolf behind the ears, completely alert of any movement, and kept sniffing the air for the scent of the one that should be after him. It had been three years since he last saw the legendary half breed, and Kumo was now a fifteen year old hanyou. He had trained hard since they parted, turning more into a demon slayer like one of the human girls that traveled with that half breed. He probably was as strong as the inu hanyou was when they met, when he tried to steal the shards for his adopted mother.   
  
He winced at the thought of his adopted mother, he hated thinking about her, it brought back so many sorrowful memories, and a strong feeling of guilt. He wished faintly that she was still there with him, that he hadn't have killed her.   
  
He sighed again, looking around and seeing that his pack had caught their breath from the run, and most had laid down on the ground to sleep. He closed his eyes, exhausted himself. For when the hanyou had shown up, he had just come back from hunting, and had gone to sleep. He would've been caught off gaurd if it wasn't for his one friend's warning. She had been sitting in her nest in an old tree deep in Kumo's forest, when she heard the priestess and the hanyou. She was happy to see them, but decided to tell Kumo first of their presence before greeting them. Kumo knew his reaction to hearing that the hanyou was in his forest wasn't what she had expected. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't even said good bye to the girl he knew loved him when he fled. He made a mental note to appoligize if he saw her again, if he lived through this for that matter.   
  
The boy's breath deepened, however hard he tried to stay awake. He blinked furiously and shook his head, trying to keep his eyes open. He felt a hand on his shoulder and almost jumped, but the hand also came with a soft and quiet voice. 'its alright little one... they won't find you yet...'/i   
  
His ears flicked, the voice was familiar, and soothing to him. His eyes closed, mumbling quietly, 'I'm not little.' before he passed out.   
  
As the boy slept, a young woman, who was clearly a fox demon stood over him, smiling sweetly. ~don't ever forget me...~/i she thought quietly to him.   
  
She knew he could probibly hear her, for she was connected to the boy. She looked down and saw the Shikon no Tama jewel fragment, knowing that was the main reason she was able to still stay beside the boy she had raised. She brought a hand up to her neck, remembering the pain she had felt when the boy had killed her. However, she held no hatred for the boy, none at all. She knew fully well she probably deserved her death, but didn't want to leave him for others to try to kill him. She knelt down next to him, hugging him, she thought to herself if it would be alright to send him back into his memories.   
  
She felt weak, and knew it was because the boy was trying hard to forget about her. She sighed, she didn't want to hurt the boy, but to save him from the greedy creature Inuyasha, she would have to. i'I'm sorry...'/i She whispered into his wolf ear and embraced him tighter, closing her eyes as she forced the boy to dream about the memories he wanted to fade.   
  
The First Memory  
  
'Kumo... come on kid, rise and shine!' he heard faintly, opening his bright violet eyes, wincing at the morning sun.   
  
He groaned and rolled over to go back to sleep, but something round hit him hard in the face. He let out a yelp, sitting upright and blinking around, looking up to see a silver haired woman wearing a pink kimono with plum blossoms patterns to make it look as if they were falling around her gracefully. She was holding a ball she had created and squeezed it seeing that the hanyou was up, letting it disapear with a pop.   
  
'Come on Kumo! I need you over here!' she called cheerfully from the branch she was on, looking out onto the dirt path with a gleeful smile.   
  
Kumo sighed and shook his head to clear it. He was slightly confused as to why he was here. He could've sworn he was running from something earlier...   
  
'Kumo!' He heard a shrill cry and ducked just in time to dodge a thrown rock.   
  
'Get up kid! We have work to do!' She said, glancing back.   
  
Kumo grumbled something about impatient old hags and rose, climbing the tree in which the demon stood with some difficulty. 'oh for crying out... here.' the demon said impatiently and pulled the struggling hanyou up by the collar of his horribly baggy blue shirt which had been stolen.   
  
'Thanks, imother/i.' He grumbled, a little annoyed with the demon.   
  
The demon whacked him hard over the head with a clawed hand. 'I told you not to call me mother! Call me by my name, kid!' she snapped at him while he put a hand on the bump that had appeared through his messy, fiery hair.   
  
'Yes, Samuski.' he said sarcastically through clenched teeth.   
  
'Good.' She said and grabbed him and held him up so he could see the path.   
  
He yawned and blinked again, seeing two girls and a boy monk walking down the path, The monk was quiet as the girl dressed in strange clothes was talking rapidly to the girl with a large weapon strapped to her back.   
  
'See them Kumo?' pointing a clawed finger at the group of strangers.   
  
'How can I not when you're-' He was about to snap back, but was interupted.   
  
'Good! You know how we greet people in my forest, right Kumo?'   
  
Kumo sighed and nodded. 'But its not really your-' he was about to point out, but again, was interupted.   
  
'Well! off you go then!' She said, dropping the hanyou unceremoniously on the branch.   
  
Kumo groaned and looked up at the demon's eyes, 'Do I have to?'   
  
The demon glared down at him and placed a clawed finger on his head. 'Of course you have to!' she replied, yanking on his hair.   
  
'Keh! What if I don't want to, what then?' He asked her as he struggled out of her grasp.   
  
The kitsune gave him an evil smile and picked him up by the collar. 'I won't tell you, I'll show you!' She told him as she swung him back.   
  
'Hey-wait! What do you think you're- GAAAAAH!' He cried as he was thrown out into the path, thankfully out of sight of the group.   
  
'Why you...' He growled, standing up and glaring behind him.   
  
'N-nani?' He blinked, looking around for the kitsune that had thrown him.   
  
He didn't have time to look for her however, for the group had made their way over to the hanyou, wondering what all the commotion was about. 'Anou... konnichiwa?' the strangely dressed girl greeted.   
  
'GAAAH!' Kumo cried out, surprised and grasping his chest.   
  
'Gr... don't do that!' He growled at them, panting and squirming a bit under their gazes.   
  
The normally dressed girl frightened Kumo, that cold glare she was giving him freaked him out a little bit. 'Hmph! Oi, baka travelers, I am Kumo, the ookami youkai!' He told them in a booming voice, bringing himself up to his full hieght and puffing out his chest, trying to look a little more threatening.   
  
The three were just staring at him, for the little hanyou didn't look very threatening at all, kind of cute actually the way he was trying to bully them around. The hanyou cleared his throat after a few moments, a sweatdrop forming on the back of his head from the moment of silence. 'May I know the names of my ivictums/i?' He asked, sounding annoyed that they didn't know the drill.   
  
'Oh! Gomen!' the girl in the strange clothes snapped out of her daze, smiling at Kumo.   
  
'I'm Kagome, Kumo, nice to meet you.' She told him with the same smile, this was also starting to freak Kumo out.   
  
'...I'm... Miroku...' The monk told him, still staring at him in disbelief.   
  
'Sango...' The glaring girl told him, her grip on her weapon tightening.   
  
Kumo Looked to them all, then nodded. 'Baka one, baka two, and baka three!' He laughed at them, not noticing the sweat drop that formed on Miroku's head, Kagome's whisper of "kawaii!" or Sango's irrated glare.   
  
'Well then!' Kumo started, clapping his hands in front of him before placing them on his hip.   
  
'There's a rule for passing through this forest of mine-'   
  
'iSamuski/i, baka...'   
  
He heard a whisper, and he glanced around, looking for the fox that was hiding and listening. 'Is there something wrong?' asked the monk as Kumo's pause was lengthened as he looked around.   
  
'Eh? Oh! Iie... correction, "Samuski's" forest!' He said irratibly before puffing out his chest again, trying to look pissed at them.   
  
'Doesn't he know this is Inuyasha's forest, Kagome-sama?' Sango asked, deciding that Kumo was too stupid to be much of a threat.   
  
'Eh...?' Kumo said and blinked before turning his glare to the trees around him.   
  
'See, baka? I TOLD you I smelt another demon here! But iNOOOOO!/i You have to be the baka that you are and try to-'   
  
'Just stick to the plan!' the woman hissed at him, trying to keep her presence unknown.   
  
'Anou... Who are you talking to?' Kagome asked him, looking around and sensing a jewel shard, but, where ever the shard was, it moved swiftly to the other side.   
  
'No one! I'm just... talking to myself, yes! talking to myself!' Kumo responded quickly before setting his gaze back on them.   
  
'The rule to cross is simple, you cough up your goods so that a certain youkai friend of mine doesn't come out and eat you!' He told them, snapping his jaws open and closed to try to make the threat seem worse.   
  
Again, all he recieved as a reaction was Miroku's sweat drop, Sango's sweat drop, and Kagome's giggle. Kumo cleared his throat irratibly, glaring at them before holding out his hands. 'So! Cough it up, punks! Weapons, staves, clothes, food...' he paused, he knew he was forgetting something in his list...   
  
'Shards! Baka!' hissed the kitsune from the branches again.   
  
'Oh! right! Shikon no tama jewel shards will let you pass with clothes, food, and weapons, and a much better chance we won't eat you for the fun of it if you cough those up!' He told them proudly before putting his hands back out, waiting.   
  
Kagome blinked at Kumo, breaking out of her little spell at the mention of Shikon no Tama jewel shards. 'Hai... I have them little one-' Kumo twitched at the mention of little.   
  
'-but we're not going to give them to you, especially when you're bullying us around!'   
  
Kumo glared at them, before giving a wide, fanged smile. 'Alright then! I don't like doing things this way, but if you wish...' He told them before crossing his arms, putting his hands into the opposite sleeves.   
  
'Inu!' He shouted out.   
  
'Neko!' Came a reply to Miroku's right.   
  
'Tori!' He called out again, gripping the hilt of a dagger hidden in his left sleeve.   
  
'Ookami!' came the reply now directly above Kagome.   
  
'KITSUNE!' Came both Kumo's voice and Samuski's as they charged after "confusing thier prey."   
  
Samuski dropped down on top of Sango, quickly grabbing the tijiya's mouth, trying to bring her down.   
  
Kumo had leapt at Kagome, he saw the shards around her neck, and drew his dagger. 'Kumo! Watch out!' came the kitsune's voice, she hadn't been able to stop Sango from throwing her hiraikotsu at her child.   
  
Kumo turned in mid air, trying to move to get out of the way like he was trained, but, dodging in the air really was hard. 'Oof!' He cried out, dropping his dagger as he was sent crashing into a tree.   
  
He slid slowly down, lights flashing before his eyes from hitting the tree as hard as he did, and even though he tried to get up, he couldn't really move. Nor could he really see... he could hear though. 'Kumo! KUMO!' he heard the kitsune call out his name before hissing in pain from being punched by Sango.   
  
She left Sango however, and ran over to him, stopping to throw... something that screeched loudly at the others before he felt her hand on his face. 'Kumo! say something, kid!' she urged, shaking him.   
  
'Itai...' he responded quietly, still unable to move.   
  
'Thank god...' She sighed, before letting out a gasp, some kind of wind started whipping past.   
  
He felt himself moving then, hearing his "mother" dig her claws deep into the tree he had flown into. 'Kumo!' he heard faintly as he slowly seemed to be floating towards the darkness.   
  
He closed his eyes then, thinking he was about to pass out, until he heard a shrill call over the wind. 'Miroku! The kid!'   
  
He hit something then suddenly, something... purple. He couldn't figure out what he had hit this time, nor did he have time, for he rather quickly passed out afterwords.   
  
Realization  
  
'Nnn.... ahh... itai...' Kumo grumbled as he stirred, awakening to the worst headache he'd ever have.   
  
And also, his worst nightmare. He blinked at what he saw, trying to make his eyes focus...   
  
whatever it was, it was really red...   
  
He yawned and rubbed his eyes, thinking it was just Samuski, forgetting completely that she wore a deep pink, not red.   
  
'Keh! the little bastard's awake now I see.' And he was very sure she had never said that before.   
  
'Huh...?' He started, looking slowly up, realizing what he had awoken to was the leg of a very large, and intimidating looking inu hanyou, who didn't look too happy with him.   
  
'Keeeeee!' He started, immeadiatly sitting up and backing away from him, a nervous smile on his face.   
  
He did however, just back up into something else soft. 'Hey! Watch where you're going!' he heard a little, annoying cry behind him.   
  
'E-eh...?' He said, blinking and turning his head around to look down at a little kitsune.   
  
'S-Samuski?' he asked, thinking she was just messing with him again.   
  
'No! The name's Shippou!'   
  
'So... I'm... here... alone...?' he asked him, looking around at the rest of those gathered, including the monk, strange girl, tijiya, and now this strange little cat...   
  
He sat there, his arms crossed as he thought about his situation.   
  
'.... KUSO!' he cursed as he curled up into a ball and covering his head.   
  
'W-what do you want from me?!' He hissed at them, his mind working quickly.   
  
'I-I'm just a little human village boy!' that was a lie, and he knew that.   
  
He did take a quick memory check, had he let them see his ears or tail?   
  
No... Although he had claimed he was a youkai...   
  
At least he could say he was just possessed...   
  
If it wasn't for the fact one of his silver wolf ears were poking out of his fiery hair.   
  
'Human village boy my ass, ookami.' The inu hanyou growled as he grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up so he had to stare into the inu hanyou's golden eyes.   
  
'Ahhhh... let me go! I didn't hurt you, and I have nothing on me!' This, was also a lie, which was rather quickly found out when this inu hanyou turned him over and began shaking him.   
  
Several gems, jewels, necklaces, bracelets, toys, his knife, and even a crown fell out of the ookami hanyou's shirt and pants. 'Heh, looks like you have quite a load.'   
  
Kumo glared up at him and tried to reach for his knife, but the other hanyou was holding him just a half of a foot above it. 'H-hey!' cried the kid as Shippou made his way over and picked up the hanyou's favorite toy, a little doll of a wolf pup that he had used as a chew toy when he was little.   
  
With a sudden wave of struggling, the younger hanyou kicked the older one hard in his sensitive nose, freeing himself to fall upon the little kitsune, snatching the toy back and retreating to a nearby log to hug it closely to his chest.   
  
He then sent a glare back at them all, 'Don't touch Mr. Snizzles!'   
  
Shippou sweatdropped as the older hanyou let out a string of curses and threats. 'Mr. Snizzles?'   
  
Kumo gave him an annoyed look and turned bright red, 'Just shut up, and don't touch my stuff, I worked hard for it!'   
  
'Heh, I'm sure you worked hard for this.' The now annoyed inu hanyou growled and picked up the crown.   
  
'Working as a mugger must be tiring work.' Kumo then sent the older hanyou a glare.   
  
'I don't mean to mug people you know, ass mutt. Who is this to judge me?' He snapped, it truly wasn't his fault, his mother sent him to do this work, it was one demon or the other.   
  
'Why you-'   
  
'Inuyasha, leave the poor kid alone!' the strangely dressed girl interupted the silver haired hanyou as he took a step forward, meaning to beat some respect into his skull.   
  
'Inuyasha? What a stupid name.' Kumo commented, enjoying the fact he had someone on his side.   
  
'And Mr. Snizzles is a better name?' Inuyasha responded, sending the younger one a smirk.   
  
Within a blink of an eye, a stone had been sent at blinding speeds towards Inuyasha's forehead, the young hanyou up on one knee for he was the one who had thrown it. However, his speed did not match Inuyasha's, for he simply raised a hand to catch the rock. His strength was shown however, for Inuyasha dropped the stone, revealing the fact it had drawn blood. With his own smirk, Kumo rested back into the ground, stuffing the toy back into his shirt before crossing his arms. 'So now then, why did you morons take me from my mother, eh? She's going to be awfully sore...' He asked in a warning manner, although, with a little thought, he realized being kidnapped meant he didn't have to work.   
  
'We didn't take you from her, we just thought it'd be a little safer if you came with us for now.' The strangely dressed girl, what was her name? oh yeah... iKagome/i responded.   
  
'Keh! Yeah right! I bet you thought I had her shard, so grabbed me while I was asleep, but realized I didn't have it, and thought about killing me in my sleep, right?' Kumo accused, knowing this plan all too well from the stupid youkai who've done this before.   
  
'Well too bad! iTHIS/i ookami won't die so easily! and when my mom comes looking for me, she's going to blow you all away!' He said proudly before sticking tongue out at them childishly.   
  
'So there!'   
  
Kumo let out a cry however when he was picked up by Inuyasha. 'Ahhh! put me down!'   
  
'You're mother has a jewel shard?'   
  
'Of course she does! how else did you expect her to have been able to steal so much in so little time?' After the hanyou had told him that, Inuyasha dropped him flat on his face and put a foot over his head to keep him down in the dirt.   
  
'Well you little punk, we need that shard your mother has.'   
  
'Keh! Like you'll be able to get your dirty little hands on her shard! You're such an idiot if you think you can take it from her, my mom could kick your ugly ass any day of the week!'   
  
Inuyasha's eye twitched and he reached for his Tetsusaiga to beat this annoying kid over the head with it, but realized it was missing. 'Wha-?' He started, having no clue how he could've lost it, and then turned to look down at Kumo, even more baffled when he saw that a rock had taken the hanyou's place.   
  
'Where'd that runt go?!' He growled as he looked around, having an idea where his father's fang had gotten.   
  
Shippou was the first to find the hanyou, pointing up at a branch above where the fiery haired youth was hanging upside down by his legs, holding his sword just out of his reach while crying out, 'look!'   
  
Kumo laughed, his wolf tail wagging from side. 'And if a "little punk" like me can steal your crappy weapon from under your mutt nose like that, my mom is sure to be able to rob you of that ridiculous looking clothes from your back as she hands you your ass.'   
  
Hearing those words, Inuyasha jumped up to yank the Tetsusaiga and Kumo back to the ground, proceeding to beating the moronic hanyou unconscious.   
  
After that incident, Kumo had ended up having to follow Inuyasha and his group for two reasons, he was a smart alec and would probably be killed in the forest if set loose, and the fact the poor hanyou was completely and utterly lost.   
  
'Why are we going to a stupid human village?' The bored hanyou sighed as he strode behind the others, blinking and remembering something.   
  
'not that there's anything wrong with humans...'   
  
'We're going there because that's where the tracks lead.' Inuyasha replied irratibly, having already been 'osuwari'ed a few times today for trying to kill Kumo and Shippou, and once because Kagome took it wrong that Inuyasha was actually trying to save the kitsune from Kumo.   
  
'Well, what could be moving towards a human village making those big of tracks huh? I've never seen humans that big.' Kumo asked as he nearly fell into one of the giant paw prints they were following.   
  
'Maybe a youkai?' Shippou asked sarcastically, rubbing a bump on his head.   
  
Kumo stopped and glared at Shippou, looking ready to give the kitsune a second bump. 'Oh shut the hell up.' he grumbled, then took his own advice.  
  
The hanyou liked listening in on their conversations, the child had never before heard more then the stories about how monks and miko where bakemono in diguise, and was interested in what was going on outside his little grove of trees and den. Even though most of this party seemed rather quiet at times (besides the usual beating of the houshi, Miroku, seemed to get whenever he decided to grope the girls) Kumo knew that if he tried making friends with that annoying kitsune long enough, he could get the younger kid to tell him everything that he knew.   
  
What he had gathered so far, was that Inuyasha was an irratible hanyou who was sealed to a tree for fifty years by a miko that he loved (this information made Kumo cry out at the time "My mother was right! Miko and houshi are evil youkai in disguise!") and then freed by that miko's reincarnation, the very girl that Kumo had been trying to get on her good side, which made him keep a much greater distance between himself and Kagome until he realized it was safer walking near her.   
  
He learnt that Sango was a skilled tijiya with a pet neko youkai, who was apparently the survivor of her tijiya village, excluding her brother possessed by Naraku.   
  
He had heard that Miroku (just as he was groping Sango) that he was a perverted, almost corrupted sounding houshi with an odd air void in his hand called "kazaana" which sucked up everything in its path, this also didn't help Kumo's fear of houshi.   
  
Kagome seemed the oddest of this group. He was told that she was a girl from a well and that she was the reincarnation of a powerful miko, and what Kumo thought was a moronic personality he had figured out on his own.   
  
Shippou, he didn't really care about, but had listened politely about his story of being a kitsune youkai who had lost his father to two youkai that had called themselves "The Thunder Brothers."   
  
What Kumo thought was the oddest though, was the fact that almost all of them were effected by this youkai called Naraku. He had heard that name before, he was pretty sure he had seen him before...   
  
Wasn't he that babboon pelted stranger that had come up to his mother one day and asked her to join him, offering shards of the Shikon no tama?   
  
He remembered though, that his mother refused, saying something that her days as "that killer" were over, that she had a life to protect, and a promise to keep.   
  
He still didn't quite understand that day several weeks back. His mother was never a killer, and who was she protecting?   
  
Who had she promised to?   
  
What did she promise?  
  
Just then, Kumo and Inuyasha both rose thier faces to the air, sniffing at an odd scent. 'Something's burning...' Kumo commented first, moving to hide behind Kagome.   
  
'Its the village.' Inuyasha commented, his clawed hand falling to rest on the hilt of the Tetsusaiga. 'Oh!' Kagome gasped as she looked up to see the cloud of smoke that had begun to rise above the forest.   
  
'Let's hurry, we're needed.' Sango called as Kirara transformed to carry Sango to the village.   
  
Kumo didn't know why, but he very suddenly took off towards the village, he had usually lagged behind purposefully to stay with the slower Kagome and Shippou. 'Where the hell does he think he's going?' he heard Inuyasha's voice behind him as he tore away, running full speed towards the smoke.   
  
~Why... does this place look so familiar...?~ He thought frantically as he leapt over more of the giant tracks, not missing a beat as he dug his feet into the ground to continue.   
  
Kumo paused only for a moment as he paused by a familiar large tree. He stood there, staring up at the tree, his face paling and his mouth dropping as he realized why this place looked so familiar. 'oh no.... Miki-sama!!!' He turned his now terrorfied face back to the fire.   
  
'Shit!' Kumo growled a curse as he started running again.   
  
He had been to Miki's village before, and he remembered that day quite well. It was the first time he had been able to shake his mother to see a human village, Miki being the first one he had met. She had accepted him, even though he was a hanyou, they had in fact become rather good friends before he had caught the scent of his mother and left.   
  
He didn't want his friend to be hurt, his loyalty was too strong to allow anyone close to him to be hurt. Kumo only skidded to a halt once he had reached the village, a few huts had been set ablaze, as well as a few humans that had apparently tried to protect thier homes. One of these huts he recognized as Miki's own.   
  
'MIKI-SAMA!!!' he cried, hoping that she had gotten out before her house could've been destroyed.   
  
Still panting from all the running he had already done, he charged towards Miki's hut, if she was still in there, he'd drag her out. He was very suddenly struck however, being thrown to the side to skid into the ground and only stopped when he ran into some rubble.   
  
Hissing in pain and wondering why he couldn't open his left eye, he lifted his head to see who his attacker was, his right eye widening in disbelief.   
  
It was his mother...   
  
His mother in her enraged, feral form, but his mother none the less.   
  
'Mother...?' He whispered as he stared at her, the giant kitsune with a flickering tail with a scythe like blade.   
  
Her response to him was a screeching roar, her intense flames dancing to the sound as a paw came streaking towards him to kill him, but why?   
  
He didn't have time to think about that, and the only thing he could do is close his eyes tightly and bring an arm up in weak defense. Time seemed to have stopped for him as he waited for the blow, but he heard something thudding. He never felt the blow, but he heard a defeaning roar which made him open his still functional eye.   
  
He held a new respect for Inuyasha.   
  
'Baka! Are you trying to get yourself killed?! Not like I'm complaining, it'd save me alot of trouble.' He heard as Inuyasha landed, as well as the paw that had been soaring towards the kid.   
  
'Keh! I told you before, this hanyou isn't going to die so easily!' Kumo replied in a snarl as he got back up to his feet, glancing at his mother who was forming a new paw out of her flames.   
  
She let out another roar in pain as the massive weapon of the tijiya's decapitated her tail which had been trying to snake towards Inuyasha to strike revenge. The enraged kitsune had whipped around to the tijiya and her neko companion, her huge, fanged mouth open wide to rip them to shreds, but this was another strike that had been stopped dead, this time by a brillant flash of light that streaked into one of her hind legs. 'Inuyasha! she has a jewel shard!' Kagome called to the silver haired hanyou as she reached for another arrow.   
  
Realizing she was in trouble as she slumped to one side, the youkai sent the others a cold glare with her blood red eyes before a wall of white flame leapt up to protect her from a certain houshi's ofuda that had been streaking towards her. 'Damn it...' He heard a curse from Miroku behind him.   
  
'Tell them to stop! That's my mother!' Kumo growled to the miko from another era, wanting this to stop. He didn't want to see his mother die, not without a fight, and he didn't really want to fight these people he had slowly started to look up to.   
  
'Huh? That's your mom?' She responded and pointed her arrow down at this information, averting her gaze to the frightened child, which was probably not a good idea.   
  
Kagome let out a cry as she dived to one side, the fiery kitsune making a run from Inuyasha towards the miko who was standing right in front of the forest. 'I'll help!' came a certain childish kitsune's voice as a giant top came landing on top of the youkai's head.   
  
That isn't quite what had made her cry out however, it was having her tail decapitated by Inuyasha's blade. With a roar, the giant kitsune started shaking madly, several things falling from her thick fur. From origami demons, to poisonous spikes, they all fell from the beast's body to rain down upon those trying to cause her harm. Inuyasha then averted his attention to Kagome who was in the most danger, moving over to protect her by his fire rat fur which deflected most of this attack, except for the demons which he simply clawed into oblivion.   
  
Sango had darted in on Kirara to save poor Shippou who was also in range of this attack, the last two, Miroku and Kumo unable to follow the fleeing demon for she left another wall of flames.   
  
There was something about those flames that struck a memory in Kumo... but he couldn't quite place it.  
  
'Hold still, Inuyasha!' Kagome told him firmly as she tried to yank out a small, nearly harmless spike that had dug itself into his neck.   
  
Kumo would've been sitting there laughing at the hanyou if it wasn't for the fact that those flames still bothered him, and that Miki was crying.   
  
They had found the girl hiding in the rubble next to what apparently was her fried sister. Kumo had no time for his friend either, he was sitting in front of the smouldering ashes that were left of Miki's home and a few others, thinking deeply in a kind of daze.   
  
'Why... is this.... BUGGING ME?!' Kumo finally roared after sitting there and squirming for a few hours, falling down to lay upon his back and stare at the smokey sky that was slowly dimming as the sun fell below the horizon.   
  
'Kumo? What are you doing?' he heard Kagome's voice behind him and rolled onto his stomach to look up at her.   
  
For a few moments her stared into her concerned gaze, her hair picking up in the wind. It was only when it became transparent enough to seem to change to a firey orange did it hit the hanyou.   
  
'Kumo...?' Kagome repeated, moving to walk over to the shocked looking kid.   
  
'No... oh Kami-sama.... no.... no!!!' His murmur changed to a scream, moving to back away from Kagome.   
  
The young miko had no clue what finally struck Kumo's memory.  
  
He knew why this scene seemed so familiar. It was because it had happened, when he was two, eight years ago to be exact.  
  
'Mommy?' a small child asked his frightened mother who seemed to be using every ounce of her strengh not to scream.   
  
'Kiyoshi...' The human woman said quietly as she kneeled next to her son, the two sharing the same fiery hair, but a silver tail began wagging that belonged to her son, revealing that this was not another human, but a hanyou.   
  
The mother finally screamed as she heard another explosion outside followed closely by the dying screams of her fellow villagers, but Kiyoshi, the child, had never heard these screams before, so had no clue what it meant. The sounds of slow footsteps came to their door and the child's mother gasped, shoving him towards their poor, broken cupboards, crying out the word, "Hide!"   
  
Kiyoshi scrambled into one of these torn cupboards, shrinking back into the darkness before poking his violet eyes out curiously, hearing his mother sob. 'Please! Youkai, spare me and my son! we've done nothing to you... please, I beg of you!' she cried to some tall, dark being standing before her with a glowing katana in hand.   
  
'You've done plenty to me just by breathing. Heh, and even more by disgracing yourself to beg for mercy!' came a low, growling voice.   
  
Kiyoshi watched in awe as this figure drew its blade across his mother's body several times in only a few blinks of an eye, the woman staring at this swordsman with wide eyes and opening her mouth to scream right before her body exploded in this odd, red liquid he did not know was blood. As his mother fell back, Kiyoshi lifted his head to this dark being who started laughing maniacally, tossing her silver hair back to reveal herself as a kitsune youkai dressed in a blood stained, pink kimono.   
  
'Fool.' Was the last word she spat onto his mother before turning to head out the door.   
  
Kiyoshi scrambled over to his mother, this sinking feeling in his chest that something terribly wrong had just happened.   
  
'Mommy...?' he asked as he nudged her cooled, bloody body.   
  
'no nap time...' he continued quietly, tears welling up in his eyes from sudden fear.   
  
The youkai stopped at his words, turning slowly and watching Kiyoshi. 'A... hanyou...?' she muttered quietly and watched him with her emerald eyes.   
  
'onegai... Mommy... please wake up...' he whimpered as he shook her gently in his small hands, his silver tail drooping down into the puddle of this odd liquid.   
  
Kiyoshi moved to rest his head upon his deceased mother's wounded chest, weeping into her as he hugged her tightly.   
  
'Mommy... you're scaring me...'   
  
After a few moments, he felt a hand fall onto his shoulder, making him lift his tear streaked and blood splattered face to a kind looking silver haired kitsune, not recognizing her at first as the same kitsune that hurt his mother.   
  
'What do you want...?' he sniffled.   
  
'Hanyou... I think you should follow me.' she said gently as she crouched down next to him, pulling lightly at his shirt sleeve to urge him to rise.   
  
'What about Mommy?' he asked, slowly getting up, but keeping his eyes on his mother.   
  
The kitsune youkai looked over at her last kill, looking sorrowfully and regretfully between them. 'Hanyou... your Mom will be just fine... She'll come and get you after she wakes up, ok?' she told him with a weak smile.   
  
Kiyoshi perked up and jumped onto this stranger's back, wrapping his arms around her neck while his tail wagged energetically, expecting a ride. The kitsune gave a small laugh and carefully rose, carrying the child out of the house and village, away from the massacre she caused to raise this hanyou as her own, and to later rename this child lovingly after his "most favoritest thing in the world." His name, was Kumo.   
  
'DAMN HER! DAMN EVERY FIBER IN HER BODY!!' Kumo continued to roar, tears streaming down his face as he had his fit infront of the miko.   
  
'Kumo! Calm down and tell me what's wrong-'   
  
'I'LL FUCKING TELL YOU WHAT'S WRONG!' he cursed at her, raising his head to send the miko a hatred filled glare.   
  
'She killed them! She killed everyone! My dad, my mom, my friends, my neighbors...' he shook as he sobbed, dropping his head to hold it in his hands.   
  
'Who did...?' Kagome asked, worried for child she had traveled with who looked as if he was going to go feral as Inuyasha did, but she knew he'd be much harder to calm down.   
  
'THAT BITCH WHO I'VE BEEN CALLING MY MOTHER, THAT'S WHO!' he screamed, his tail bristling as he glared around, looking for something.   
  
His eyes glowed slightly red as he saw a rusting katana next to a burnt body of a villager, rising and taking the hilt in a shaking hand. 'Kumo... what do you think you're doing?' the miko asked the enraged hanyou.   
  
'Getting my revenge.' he answered simply as he turned, smiling widely and bearing his fangs to Kagome.   
  
'Calm down Kumo, you're just going to get yourself killed, and where will that get you?' Kagome tried to reason with him, but he simply laughed.   
  
'Do you honestly think I care if I die?' He then growled and turned his back on her once more.   
  
'I have nothing left... except revenge to yet recieve.... It was... fun... traveling with you, Kagome... arigatou, but... good bye.'   
  
Now that Kumo thought about it... that was the last time he saw Kagome.   
  
Inuyasha.   
  
Miki.   
  
Shippou.   
  
All of them. And why did he ever forgive that kitsune he called his mother?   
  
He didn't have too much time to think about this however, for the spell that was placed on him was lifting, he could finally drift free of these memory filled dreams. He remembered distinctly that he heard a demonic, rather frightful hiss that awoke his pack around him, setting them into fits.   
  
'Oi... oi... calm down, calm down, nothing is here, not yet.' he yawned to them, streaching nonchalantly against the tree trunk.   
  
He hadn't noticed the scent in the air for a few minutes, although he wished he did notice it earlier. But the one who carried this scent shifted the winds to keep herself hidden. She liked watching this boy in curiousity, often mimicing him from her hiding place, she always had ever since she met him, her "ookami boy," or, "angry face."   
  
When the young adult lifted his nose up to the air as he caught the scent, he slowly turned his gaze from the old wolf he was stroking to her fair, pale face.   
  
'Leiko-chan...?' he started as he saw the one winged youkai whose innocence couldn't seem to be ripped away, rising slowly as he stared.   
  
She gave him a small giggle of joy and ran up to him to tackle him back to the ground, giving a kind of three armed hug as her wing folded over him. it would've been four, had not a certain evil youkai by the name of Naraku had met up with her after her first brush with the miko, Kagome.   
  
The tired hanyou couldn't help but laugh with her, nuzzling into her rather exposed chest in greeting, feeling the furry, skimpy clothing this girl chose to wear. The two "love birds" in a way simply laid there smiling and gazing into each other's eyes, no words were passed, but with their eyes they were capable of sending the simple message "Aishiteru." to one another.   
  
Leiko's face was the first to show a little grief, whining quietly as she hugged Kumo tightly, trembling with fear.   
  
'Leiko-chan...?' Kumo blinked, patting her head and rubbing her shoulder, wondering why their time was broken by tears.   
  
'Why.... why did you run away, Kumo-kun...?' she asked him quietly.   
  
Kumo's short lived happiness drained away when he heard this, stroking her hair gently. 'Leiko.... gomen nasai for the abrupt leave... I... I have to go somewhere.' he told her as he lifted her with ease to sit up and rise.   
  
'Can I come?' She asked him without complaint of being moved, her eyes blazing with the want of adventure again.   
  
But Kumo denied her with a soft shake of his head. 'Iie... you can't come, Leiko. I.... I'm going some place bad... some place not even a youkai should go to.' he tried to explain, smiling a little to try to reassure her.   
  
Kumo sweatdropped as Leiko put up one of her common tactics of begging,   
  
Crying.   
  
'O-oi! I'm not going to leave you here alone, you got that?' He said quickly, waving his hands.   
  
'I will.... uh....' he said, looking around, his gaze eventually falling on the old wolf who was watching the whole exchange with a rather wry smile.   
  
Kumo blinked a few times at this one wolf who oddly held the same eye color as himself, violet, then kneeled down next to him. 'You will watch after her, right? I won't need you this time old man.' he said with a grin, scratching the wolf behind his ears before rising again.   
  
'I really don't mean to leave you Leiko... but... you have to understand-'   
  
'I understand... Ookami boy...' she sighed with a nod and a bow.   
  
'Have a safe trip.'   
  
Kumo smiled at her, knowing his trip wouldn't be safe at all, but gave her a thumbs up. 'I will, and I promise I'll be back soon... ok?' he promised, gazing into her emerald eyes once more, unable to think of anything but how cute she looked as she pouted and whined.   
  
His thoughts were driven back on track by voices his sharp ears caught.   
  
"FEH! Stupid kid, all we want is that last shard and he has to make it hell. When I catch his stupid ookami ass, I'm gonna-"   
  
"Inuyasha! Calm down, all we have to do is ask nicely, I'm sure Kumo will give us his shard."   
  
"Kagome-sama, I might have to go with Inuyasha on this one... something doesn't seem right..."   
  
"Well, I'd have to say you haven't groped one of us today, but I would say that's an improvement."   
  
"... oh, you're right Sango."   
  
"HENTAI!!!"  
  
"Oi! Sango, you-! ITAI!"   
  
"Would all of you shut up?! Can't you sense it...?"  
  
That seemed to be Kumo's que, for he looked frantically over at those voices, first feeling a sense of warmth that he might get to see people he had traveled with, although a for a short time, but then extreme fear and over protection over his shard. With a nearly quiet farewell to the girl he had been admiring, Kumo leapt off again, running as if the devil himself was at his heels.  
  
Leiko's face fell as she watched him go, letting a hand drift over the one change Kumo failed to notice about her. Her stomach was larger.   
  
She suddenly started to hiss and went down to her knees, gripping her middle in apparent protection, her skin seeming to crawl as it turned a shadowy shade of black. It was this sight that made the group Kumo seemed to be so fearful of take a longer route, buying the hanyou some time to run, Inuyasha and the others believing the incredible jaki they felt was from the innocent girl, Leiko.   
  
What they didn't know, was that a force was building, driven to insanity from pure fear that she might not get to hold her son the next night.  
  
That exact force, was what they would be challanged by, a hurdle seeming to large to jump.   
  
That exact force was making its home inside the scarred hanyou, Kumo. 


End file.
